Ubisoft has proudly announced that Assassin's Creed Shadows has attracted over 3 million players within just seven days of its launch on May 20. This impressive figure marks a significant increase from the 2 million players reported on the second day, outpacing the initial launches of both Origins and Odyssey. Ubisoft has shared additional statistics, previously disclosed in an internal email and covered by IGN, which contextualize Shadows' opening weekend performance. The company compared it favorably to Origins and Odyssey, but noted it didn't match the exceptional launch of Valhalla in 2020.

Assassin's Creed Shadows achieved the second highest day one sales revenue in the franchise's history, only surpassed by Valhalla. It also set a record for the biggest Ubisoft day one launch on the PlayStation Store. Players have collectively logged over 40 million hours in the game so far.

The launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows is crucial for Ubisoft, coming after a series of setbacks including delays and the commercial underperformance of Star Wars Outlaws last year. The company also faced several high-profile challenges, such as flops, layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations leading up to the release of Shadows. Amid these difficulties, the founding Guillemot family was reportedly in discussions with Tencent and other investors about a potential buyout that would allow them to retain control over Ubisoft's intellectual property. Consequently, the gaming industry is closely monitoring Assassin's Creed Shadows' early performance for indicators of its success or failure.

On Steam, Assassin's Creed Shadows set a new record for the franchise, becoming the most-played game in the series with a peak of 64,825 concurrent players over the weekend. This is noteworthy as it was the first Assassin's Creed game to launch on Steam on day one since Odyssey in 2018. For comparison, BioWare's single-player RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard reached a peak of 89,418 players on the platform.

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It's challenging to determine whether Assassin's Creed Shadows is meeting, exceeding, or falling short of Ubisoft's expectations without specific details on those expectations, revenue, or sales figures. Ultimately, the financial performance of Assassin's Creed Shadows will be the deciding factor for both the game's success and Ubisoft's future. A clearer picture may emerge with Ubisoft's next financial report in the coming months.

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